There are many reasons to like Buenos Aires, one of them, a somewhat morbid one, is the City of the Dead - El Cementerio de la Recoleta.

The attraction of cemeteries has haunted me all my life. No idea as to why this is so (I am not the only one, I was told to reassure myself). Today I want to take a look at this special meeting place of the dead.

Today's destination (where also the cemetery is located) is a completely different side of the city - Recoleta. Even Antoine, whom I don't trust to be very fit, thinks that it can be easily accessed on foot.

 

Good Vibes

Actually, I prefer the small, quiet streets where hardly any cars pass through, where the noise of the city is a distant murmur, where old people sit at the door and chat, where children play and birds chirp, much more than the swanky avenues. Despite all the grandeur, they are too hectic, too noisy and – who would have thought so – in a city that boasts of good air, polluted with too much bad air.

Today I am looking for the good vibes, so I take my time, record everything, try to enjoy the moment.

 

The Biblioteca National

On the way, more or less by chance, I stumble upon a very strange building the 'Biblioteca National'.

Since the main wing is much larger than the lower floor, one imagines a giant mushroom from afar. The building seems to be floating in the air, probably an intended impression of the architect.

But when you step inside (which is not that easy), it turns out to be a slight disappointment.

I imagine a huge collection of books on ancient wooden walls, protected from wind and weather and prying eyes behind thick panes of glass, like the National Library in London or Hogwarts in the Harry Potter universe. None of that!

I am sent to the 5th floor, entering the sacred halls expectantly, but there are no books, no wooden walls, not even thick glass. Only a few students sitting crouched and silent over their work, giving me a few surprised looks. There are no books to be seen anywhere.

They have probably all been digitized and are now gathering dust in a musty basement.

 

La Biblioteca National
La Biblioteca National - an almost floating building

 

El Cementerio de la Recoleta – The City of the Dead

So then the destination of the day, the first real highlight, one of the main attractions of the city, el Cementerio de la Recoleta.

This cemetery El Cementerio de la Recoltea is not just a cemetery, it is a city within the city, a meeting place of the dead gathering here for hundreds of years. It reminds me of the cemetery Père Lachaise in Paris, the final resting place for Edith Piaf, Yves Montand, Marcel Proust and all the other famous people. And of course, the main attraction for the younger visitors, the grave of Jim Morrison, the legendary singer of the Doors.

It's different here. With the exception of Evita Peron, the notorious president of the country, whose name still brings tears to the eyes of older Argentines, there is no-one known to me.

But every somehow well-known personality from politics, economy, culture or simply money and nobility seems to be buried here.

 

Tombs like castles  Alley along the tombs  Tomb like a pantheon

Each grave is different, each a work of art, sometimes kitschy, sometimes of real beauty, some small, almost hidden behind the more pretentious mausoleums. Some are huge, stand out, have domes like St. Peter's, others are reminiscent of miniature churches and chapels.

I walk along the streets and alleyways, soon I get lost, amazed by these relics of a time that seems to have passed, but which hasn't passed at all. Every few metres I am stopped by crowds of tourists who have booked an organised tour and now, sweating, listen to the explanations of the guides, presented in bad English or French.

El Cemetery of Recoleta 1
El Cemetery of Recoleta 4
El Cemetery of Recoleta 5
El Cemetery of Recoleta 6
El Cemetery of Recoleta 7
El Cemetery of Recoleta 8

El Museo de las Bellas Artes

So, then an excursion into high culture, that is to say the air-conditioned rooms of the 'Museo de las Bellas Artes'.

 

Museum of Fine Arts
Museum of Fine Arts

I expect Argentinean artists completely unknown to me, but far from it. Despite free admission (!) the artworks are first class. Everything with rank and name, from the Middle Ages to modern times, is gathered here, including Monet and Manet and Gauguin and Sisley and all the others. And even, if only small paintings, by Jackson Pollock and Mark Rothko. The modern Argentines, on the other hand, are just as crazy as their colleagues in the rest of the world, some are funny, others completely incomprehensible.

 

A strange flower

It is now late afternoon, what remains is the strange flower on the Plaza Naciones Unidas. It is a huge metal installation, about twenty metres high, whose leaves open and close as the sun moves. But the sun's movement not only opens the flower, it has also makes my legs heavy.

 

a very strange flower 1
a very strange flower 2

Ticket to Montevideo

There remains to get the ticket for the boat trip to Montevideo, which means another walk of some kilometers, but then this is enough for today. My stupid knee (which I actually do not want to mention anymore) tells me at the hotel that it is now more than enough and that it will be on strike if there are more strains of this kind. So watch out then!

 

Mileage: zero

Matching Song:   Halsey - Graveyard

And here the journey continues ...

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